How does one connect a power amplifer?

[Dolby]

Hi,

I have an 4 year old Onkyo 595 AV receiver. This does not PRE OUTS (other than for the sub). I saw a Rotel power amplifier I like - but is there a way to connect it without pre outs?

[E-Stat]

I have an 4 year old Onkyo 595 AV receiver. This does not PRE OUTS (other than for the sub). I saw a Rotel power amplifier I like - but is there a way to connect it without pre outs?

Pre outs are gain managed. You can tap from the tape output jacks, but that would be a fixed output. You would need inline attenuators to control the output to the amplfiier.

rw

[sam9]

Yes but none are very satisfactory.

A- Maybe you can find a AV service/repair shop that can add a pre-out. This may or may not be possible. If possible it may not be cheap and will also void any warranty remaining.

B- I have seen attenuator boxes at www.partsexpress.com that do this but how good they sound is anyone's guess. In any case you will be adding amplifier noise and distortion on top of amplifier noise and ditortion.

C- If the reciever has a headphone output on the front pannel, that may work. You can get cables from Radio Shack with RCA plugs on one end and a phono plug on the other. Look closely at the phone plug - it must be TRS (tip-ring-sleve) NOT TS (tip-sleve). If you don't know what this means it will become obvious when you look at them. Try this with the volume starting at minimum and increase it carefully. (Sometimes the volume control for headphones is separate. If anything sounds odd --STOP.


Good luck

[fudgemik]

dolby I have a pre out converter, ive had it for quite a few years now and u connect it to the speaker outputs of your receiver and on the other end of this little black box are the rca pre outs you are needing......its very small and is made by carver.....think its called z1-coupler, i was in the same boat a long time ago........in all seriousness you can have it....email me your address and i would gladly give it to you....if your asking yourself why? its because i searched for something like this for a long time and everyone said there was no such thing and i found there was, not to mention its completely worthless to me but i held onto it all these years......i remeber using it when i had a kenwood stereo receiver , boy those were the days......... private message me your address if you want....

[Resident Loser]

Hi,

I have an 4 year old Onkyo 595 AV receiver. This does not PRE OUTS (other than for the sub). I saw a Rotel power amplifier I like - but is there a way to connect it without pre outs?

What is the power rating for the Rotel unit? Your Onkyo is rated @75Wpc...you would have to move up appreciably, power-wise, for it to be worth your while.

Their are line output attenuators used in the car audio market from about 20bux and up and there are professional stereo "direct boxes" notably from Whirlwind, which use Jensen transformers(supposedly the "best") but for the price, and the fact you would need two "stereo" units and one mono, you'd be better off statring from scratch IMO.

You could have someone come up with a voltage attenuator circuit(it's really only two resistors per channel) custom spec'd to your Onkyo's power rating AND the input specs of the Rotel...but, well, really why go through the hassle when an upgrade is soooo much easier...four years in HT is like dog years or better...

I mean...you could get an adapter out of your 'phone jack terminated in RCAs to feed the Rotel but it would only be stereo and then you couldn't use 'phones and you'd run the risk of someone pulling the plug and sending your speakers to any early grave...

jimHJJ(...did I mention upgrade...)

[sam9]

Also, keep in mind noise and distortion are cummlative. Whether this is umportant depends the level present in each piece of equipment and where your personal threshold of audibility lies.

[psonic]

My suggestion would be to hold off on the amp. You will have a rigged preamp which will hurt the overall sound output. My first upgrade from receiver was an NAD 304 35 w/ch integrated amp; it crushed both my 100w pioneer and my 65w H/K receivers in all areas including ability to play loud without a bit of stress, imaging, separation, timbre and clarity. It also drove any speaker I put in its path with ease. If you are mostly into music, I would look for an integrated amp, this way you can A/B it with your receiver, it will be a nice upgrade. NAD, Rotel, Cambridge audio, Jolida have some very affordable, quality audiophile integrated amps you could consider. I generally buy used amps - usually they are well-cared for and last 15+ yrs so it's pretty safe. Another good thing, if you buy on audiogon or ebay, and you don't care for the product you can quickly sell it the same way with usually no loss. Just my 2 cents...
here are a few examples on audiogon right now:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1127086978

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1127149532